Resume Guide

Note: webpage formatting and paper/file formatting have different requirements. You can use this as a resource along with the available PDF download of this resume guide.

SUMMARY
A short (2-4 lines) overview of who you are and the type of work you’re passionate about. Demonstrate your qualifications as they relate to the role you’re pursuing. Consider adding words from the job description and make sure this section is revisited for each position you apply to. “Experience with...” “Skilled at...” “Committed to...”

Bachelor of [Arts or Science] in [Major/s], Concentration or EmphasisGPA (optional)

• Optional bullet points: Minor/s, Relevant Coursework, Awards/Scholarships, Campus Involvement/Orgs, Study Abroad

SKILLS (if including more general skills, put the skills section last)
Technical: List major or job-relevant skills first. Option to add subsections (hardware, software, languages, etc.)
Professional: List “soft skills” but keep them specific and position-focused (“public speaking” or “persuasive writing” rather than “communication”). Can also include bilingual fluency here

• On average, write 3-5 bullet points describing your outcomes and accomplishments, tailored to the position. Not all experiences need to be the same length—use more space for more relevant positions
• Rather than just listing the job description/responsibilities, describe what YOU contributed and achieved
• Begin bullet points with a variety of skills-based action verbs (“Researched”, “Communicated”, “Presented”) and avoid passive terms when you can (“Responsible for”, “In charge of”)
• Use present verb tense for current roles and past tense for previous roles

Bullet Point Formula: Action Verb + Specific Task + Purpose or Result

• Keep position summaries short and to the point. You can still be specific while being brief by including numbers, frequency, and examples (“such as...”, “including...”). Quantify when impactful with numbers and percentages
• Highlight your most impressive responsibilities or accomplishments first—recruiters will skim
• You can include experiences in this section even if they were unpaid or volunteer work
• Example bullet point: Planned and executed a 4-part campus speaker series featuring 8 alumni professionals in biotech to provide career insights for students, resulting in 100+ attendees

• Include relevant and significant projects only. If you had a specific role in the project, name your role
• Explain what the project goal was and what technologies or processes you used. If you worked in a group, share
  what you specifically contributed

Position Title

• If you had a specific role within a student org, include it as its own experience with a description of what the role entailed. If you were a general member of a student org, you can include it briefly in the Education section

FORMAT – CONSISTENCY

• Even the best experience can be overlooked if it isn’t organized neatly on your resume.
• You don’t have to follow a specific format—just make sure you stay CONSISTENT. For example, if you put dates on the right in one section, keep them on the right throughout the document. If you bold one position title, bold all of them.
• Resumes should generally be concise. Most college students will have a 1-2 page resume, dependent on the amount of relevant experience.
• Font size typically shouldn’t be smaller than 10 and margins no smaller than .5, but feel free to adjust the size and spacing to fit all of the content you want to include.
• Don’t get too artistic. Keep your resume simple, neat, and easy to read. Application Tracking Systems (ATS) favor simpler formats, so avoid using columns and do not include any photos or graphics.

CONTENT – SPECIFICITY

• Remember that the recruiter reading your resume has no context. Avoid acronyms unless they are commonly known, and describe your tasks and accomplishments as you would describe them to someone who was not there with you.
• If you worked in a group, how big was the group? If you attended meetings, how often? It’s okay not to have an exact number—think phrases like “weekly”, “hour-long”, “approximately 50”, “over 75”… Numbers enhance credibility and give an idea of scope.
• Rather than simply listing keywords like “customer service” and “collaboration” in your bullet points, help your reader understand the HOW and the WHY. “Provided customer service BY...” “Collaborated WITH...”

CONTENT – RELEVANCE

• Write your resume with the recruiter’s perspective in mind. They will likely be looking through hundreds of resumes—how do you make yours stand out?
• For starters, think about the experiences that will be most interesting to the recruiter—from their perspective, which skills are most important? Which positions were most relevant?
• Order your sections by relevance to the job. For most students, Education should come before
  Experience and after your Summary. Beyond that, it’s up to you what you’d like to highlight. Recruiters skim top to bottom, so don’t leave your most relevant information for the last few lines.
• Use keywords and phrases from the job description. This will help the recruiter visualize you in the role and match ATS criteria.
• Your experiences should be in reverse chronological order within each section. However, if you want to highlight older experience because it is more relevant, consider splitting your experience into “relevant experience” or “[marketing] experience” and “additional experience."

All resumes are unique because your experience is unique - For individualized feedback, meet with one of our staff.